§ Mr. Jim MarshallTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many representations he has received concerning his proposals to change expenditure under section 11 of the Local Government Act 1966; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Peter LloydUp to 9 March, some 266 letters had been received. As we have made clear, we remain fully committed to tackling the causes of disadvantage amongst 679W ethnic minorities and section 11 grant will continue to play a major role in our programme to combat such disadvantage. It is with much regret, therefore, that due to general economic circumstances we shall be unable to sustain the level of expenditure over the next three years which had earlier been planned. We have also made it clear that we are anxious to work closely with local authorities and other interested parties to ensure that the available funding achieves maximum benefit for members of ethnic minorities, and we have invited them to let us have their observations by the end of March.